This invention relates to packages having attached thereto an integrated circuit chip for storing information related to the package or its contents and in particular a package having an integrated circuit chip embedded therein for interactive storage of information with regard to the contents and use over time of the package which is of particular importance in relation to the pharmaceutical Industry.
The correct administration of medications whether by an individual or a health care professional is growing concern. In particular it is a concern where the individual takes multiple medications. Further, it is a concern as the individual gets older to ensure that he/she is taking their medication as prescribed. It is also a concern to ensure that the individual gives each health care professional a full history of medications as well as related problems.
Typically when a physician prescribes a particular medication, the physician has very little control over whether the patient actually takes the medication as prescribed. Rather, the physician must rely on the patient to take the medication as prescribed. The risk of a patient taking their medication incorrectly is increased with the number of medications. Studies have shown that in the United States the hospitalization of patients due to the incorrect administration of prescriptions drugs has increased in recent years. In some instances the incorrect use of the drug is fatal. Other studies have shown that 60% of women on the birth control pill have forgotten to take the pill everyday and as few as 20% of women actually take the pill at the same time everyday as prescribed. The result of this is that most unplanned pregnancies occur because women do not take their birth control pill regularly. One way the government is trying to address this issue is to require more comprehensive information on the drug labels. However, more effective labelling is only a partial solution since people will still forget to take the medication either at all or at the correct time.
There are concerns related to the administration of medication that need to be considered. For example some concerns are: how to ensure that the individual does not forget to take the medication at the prescribed times or at the prescribed intervals; how to ensure that the individual takes neither too few nor too many medications, and how to ensure that the individual takes the right medication or that they heed the warnings or other contra-indicators associated with the medication. In addition, it would be advantageous if the physician had a mechanism to confirm when in fact the medications were taken. This is of particular importance when the physician is trying to make minor adjustments to the medication.
In addition to these concerns, when the medication is administered by a health care professional In a hospital or other institution there are other concerns that need to be considered. For example other concerns are: how to ensure there is continuity with multiple staff for one individual, how to ensure that the medication is administered to the right individual; and how to ensure that there is a complete log of all of the medications given to a specific individual.
A number of devices have been suggested to try to address at least some of these problems. For example, a number of devices are used as reminder units for specific medications containers. For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,316 issued to Hanpeter et al. shows a monitoring device attached to a blister pack having conductive traces thereon such that when a trace is broken the monitoring device records the time thereof. The monitoring device includes a power source. U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,189 issued Jan. 19, 1993 to Hafner shows a signalling device that is adapted to be attached to an individual medication. The device signals when the medication is to be taken but it does not record if it has been taken. U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,961 issued Mar. 5, 1996 to Maestre shows a programmable medication alarm device designed to be attached to a medicine bottle or dispenser. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,153 issued Mar. 12, 1985 to Schollmeyer et al. shows a prompting device that is attached to an individual medication container. The Scholimeyer device may record when the cap was opened. There are a number of shortcomings with regard to these devices. In particular, all of these devices include a power source with the device and therefore with the medication and accordingly these devices would be expensive to operate. Further, these devices do not have a method of providing contra-indications or handling multiple medications.
Alternatively, more comprehensive devices have been suggested. For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,831,562 issued May 16, 1989 to McIntosh et al. shows a reminder device that includes individual compartments for each different medication. The device is programmed to provide a reminder signal and provide a display to indicate that a medication should be taken. Similarly U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,061 issued Sep. 8, 1998 to Hermann et al. shows an interactive medication reminder/dispenser device with a plurality of compartments for different medications. The device provides a visual and audio signal indicative of a time to take at (east one medication. This device may also include a weighing mechanism or an optical system which enables the device to determine if a pill has actually been removed. Alternatively the user presses a key to indicate that the medication has been taken. Both devices could also include information with regard to medication incompatibilities. Each of these devices has a power source attached thereto. There are a number of shortcomings with regard to these devices. In particular by emptying the medication into another container the user risks confusing the medication by inadvertently putting it into the wrong compartment. Further, information from the medications is read into the device but no Information with regard to the use of the medication is written back to the medication container. Therefore, no information with regard to use of the medication is attached to the medication container.
Other devices have been suggested which have specific functions with regard to the safe use of medications. For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,812,064 issued Sep. 22, 1998 to Barbour shows a device that has a medicine bottle with a memory unit attached thereto. However, the memory unit allows only for information to be transferred from the memory unit to a playback unit. No information is written from the playback unit to the memory unit. Therefore, no information with regard to actual use of the medication is carried in the memory unit. Other devices are used to indicate when the product has passed its expiration date. This can be very important with regard to medicines because after that date they may not have any value or they may become toxic. An example of such a device is U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,015 issued Sep. 1, 1998 to Rothchild et al. which shows an electronic label that indicates the expiration of a predetermined time period.
None of the prior art systems described above show a package with an interactive memory unit that both stores information with regard to the medication and the use of the medication by an individual. The package would be used in association with a consumer prompting device that both reads information from the package and writes information onto the package with regard to use of the medication. The information with regard to the use of the package is stored on the interactive memory unit, that is information with regard to a method of determining the next take time. Information with regard to the method of determining the next take time is transferred to the consumer prompting device wherein the next take time is calculated and the next take time is stored on the consumer prompting device and the method of determining next take time is deleted from the consumer prompting device. In addition, if the consumer takes a medication the take time is written from the consumer prompting device to the interactive memory unit Thus, all information with regard to the medication is stored with the package. The advantage of the system herein is that the consumer prompting device does not store each method of determining the next take time for each medication, rather it obtains the method from the package, calculates the next take time and then deletes the method. Accordingly, the memory requirements for the consumer prompting device can be greatly reduced. In addition information with regard to use of a medication could also be stored with the consumer prompting device.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a package that includes a memory unit that stores information with regard to the medication and in addition stores information with regard to the use thereof. Thus the package could electronically store information with regard to the medication and its incompatibilities, the particular regime for a particular individual, and information with regard to corrective measures when the medication is not taken in accordance with the preferred instructions. When such a package is used with a consumer prompting device, the device can prompt the individual with regard to the regime and the consumer prompting device can write back onto the memory unit in the package information with regard to use of the medication. The consumer prompting device can be arranged such that the prompt for taking the medication can only be deactivated by the particular package. Further, the consumer prompting device may prompt for refills, provide a second log of the use of a particular medication, and provide a positive identification of the individual with the package. The consumer prompting device may include a display that advises regarding corrective measures where the prescribed regime was deviated from.
Such a package in association with a consumer prompting device would provide a number of advantages. Information with regard to the use of the medication would be attached to the package of medication. This would help the health care professional to diagnose the individual when considering symptoms and further medications. Further, such information would be useful for clinical studies with regard to the use of medication. Further, the package in association with the consumer prompting device provides a system of verification to help reduce the chance of an individual taking a medication at the wrong time or in association with incompatible medications.
An interactive reminder device includes a read/write module, an integrated circuit, a power supply, memory, a clock and a prompt. The read/write module is adapted to read Information stored on an identifiable integrated circuit chip and to write information onto the identifiable integrated circuit chip attached to a package. The integrated circuit is operably connected to the read/write module. The power supply is operably connected to the integrated circuit. The memory is operably connected to the integrated circuit. The dock operably connected to the integrated circuit and the prompt is operably connected to the integrated circuit. The interactive reminder device is for use with a package having an integrated circuit chip attached thereto.
In another aspect of the present invention there is provided a system for prompting for the use of medication. The prompting system includes the steps of reading information stored on an integrated circuit chip regarding a method of calculating a next take time; calculating the next take time; storing a next take time In a prompting device; and prompting at the next take time.
In a further aspect of the invention the prompting system is adapted for use in a health care facility. The health care facility steps include calculating the next take time for an identifiable patient for an identifiable medication; storing a next take time, the identified medication and the identified patient in a prompting device; prompting at the next take time; confirming that the medication integrated circuit chip is the medication integrated circuit chip associated with the identified medication; and confirming that the patient integrated circuit chip is the patient integrated circuit chip associated with the identified patient and thereafter administering the identified medication to the identified patient.
As still further aspect of the present invention Is a package having an integrated circuit chip integrally attached thereto whereby removing the chip destroys the package.
Further features of the invention will be described or will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description.